AMD gives up monthly catalyst updates

AMD has a long tradition of monthly Catalyst updates and high-end users really appreciate the timely rollouts. However, as of this month, AMD is giving up this strategy and it was quite clear in its statement.

“You just won’t see a new driver every single month.”

The new tactic is that you’ll only need to upgrade to a new Catalyst driver, when it makes sense, claims AMD. The naming remains the same, the year number stays, and the second number will mark the release month, but it won’t come every single month anymore, claims AMD.

With this in mind AMD has released AMD Catalyst 12.6 Beta that can be downloaded here.

This new driver has resolved many issues especially for Radeon 7000 series and brings some new crossfire profiles. Here is what you can expect:

We are somewhat sad to see AMD leaving the monthly driver update behind, but we guess the move should not make much that of difference as far as most users are concerned. [At least it will make life easier for reviewers. Ed]